Human Resources Academy The Resource Center

Human Resources Academy

According to Business Week magazine, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuits have increased tremendously over the last five years, and California has been leading the way. Many employers believe they are in compliance with California law because their policies comply with the FLSA. Unfortunately this can be a costly misconception. It’s no doubt, too, that the Authority has seen an increase in employment related claims over the last few years.

To help you gain a better and more accurate understanding of FLSA, along with myriad other employment-related issues, consider attending the Authority’s Human Resources Academy. This year, the Academy will be at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach, May 9 – 12, 2011. The Academy has a long tradition of providing critical training for anyone who has personnel responsibilities, including managers, administrators, assistants, and support staff.

This Academy will be presented by Steve Filarsky, Filarsky & Watt, LLP; Tim Davis, Kelly Trainer, and Traci Park with Burke, Williams, and Sorenson, LLP; Forrest Story, Public Sector Excellence; Deann Wagner, York Insurance Services; Diana Rich and Tammie Haller with the California JPIA; and Sam Penrod, City of San Clemente.

The Academy will focus on the following issues:

• Maintaining an effective workplace in tough economic times
• Limiting your agency’s employment practices liability exposures
• Employee handbooks and policy manuals: how they limit potential liability
• Terms and conditions of a memorandum of understanding
• Effective performance measurement and management tools
• Dealing with difficult employees
• Managing social networking in the workplace
• Employee recognition programs: tools to increase employee retention
• Understanding workers’ compensation
• Managing leaves of absence
• The city manager/human resources relationship

With many members facing limitations on travel, we have selected a central location. For those planning to attend that do not need to stay overnight, the total cost is $175 for the three days of sessions. Members who are located farther away and need to stay at the Academy facility, the total cost is $375. Of course, breakfast and lunch are included, along with all course materials.

The Resource Center

The Authority launched its new Resource Center in mid-November 2010 as an expansion of its popular training program for members. The Resource Center is a full-function learning management system which includes a new system of workshop registration for instructor-led courses, virtual classes, self-paced training programs, and DVD safety multi-media items. The Resource Center also includes access to the Resource Library which includes sample policies and previously published newsletter articles. The Resource Center will also allow members to access their training records and completed course transcripts by Spring 2011.

To introduce the new Resource Center, the Authority has conducted over 25 webinars for learners and training representatives from member agencies. The orientation webinars were recorded and members can playback these sessions from the www.cjpia.org website. Step-by-step instruction guides are also available from the website, too. Please contact your assigned training specialist if you would like to schedule an orientation session for your agency.

User accounts and passwords to the Resource Center were distributed to the designated training representatives or “registrars” of each member. Registrars are responsible for distributing user accounts within their respective agencies and setting policy for accessing the Resource Center. Registrars at member agencies can also now print transcripts, certificates of completion, no-show reports, and wallet cards for employees completing courses.

The Authority conducted its first virtual class in February, entitled “Preventing Harassment and Sexual Discrimination.” Over 90 members from 21 member agencies registered for the virtual sessions that were broadcast from the La Palma campus. The virtual class includes video and audio streaming of the presentation with audience interactive tools as well as PowerPoint slide show materials. Additional virtual classes are being scheduled to augment the Authority’s training program.

The self-paced programs are gaining in popularity among members. The most popular courses to date are the Driving Safety courses (Step Vans, Passenger Vehicles, Why Do We Drive the Way We Do, and Distracted Driving) followed by the self-paced courses for Preventing Discrimination and Harassment. These programs are highly interactive with video and quizzes to ensure understanding of key concepts. Learners can print out their own certificates of completion for the self-paced programs when they have mastered all modules of a self-paced course.

Please contact your assigned training specialist if you have questions or need additional information about the Resource Center.

Resource Center Learner’s Home Page

Resource Center Centra Web Cast Screen

Resource Center Self-Paced Course – Screen shot of a test page